November/December 2009
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration nautical charts carry this note; "Warning - The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids." ... Having once encountered a misplaced buoy or a missing daymark or beacon we habitually verify that the aids to navigation we see are where they should be. Yet we willingly assume, withoutany independent verification that the GPS fix displayed on our chartplotter is correct to within the three to perhaps 10-meter precision to which we are accustomed.